Persons who participate in sporting and exercise activities such as skateboarding and roller-skating, that customarily take place on a hard and unforgiving surface such as the concrete or asphalt of a sidewalk, parking lot or street, typically equip themselves with a variety of protective equipments, such as helmets, and elbow, wrist and knee pads, as safety measures against collisions and falls. Unfortunately, a major area of the body which remains unprotected in the event of a fall (a not-infrequent occurrence, particularly in the case of a novice) is the pelvic girdle, bottom of the hip region and the lower (tailbone) extremity of the spine, especially when the participant goes 'straight down and lands in a generally sitting or prone position.